Southern California -- this just in

Laguna Beach shop owners assess damage during break in the rain

More than a dozen Laguna Beach shop owners along Ocean Avenue took advantage of a break in the rain about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to assess the damage.

The floors of many of the restaurants, rug galleries and bars and clothing boutiques were covered in water, with mounds of sand piled up on their doorsteps.

Kelly Boyd, a Laguna Beach City Councilman and owner of the popular local watering hole the Marine Room, stepped over a barrier of sand bags and unlocked the door of his business to discover the wood floors were soaked and buckling.

“This is not good,” he said, shaking his head in dismay. "We cannot get flood insurance in town because it is on a flood plain.”

The flotsam on one stretch of downtown sidewalks included patio furniture, CDs and uprooted vegetation.